Occupation notifies of cutting electricity and water to UNRWA buildings in Jerusalem

The Jerusalem Governorate reported that the Israeli occupation authorities have begun implementing practical steps to cut electricity and water services to the buildings of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in occupied Jerusalem.

The Governorate stated in a statement today, Tuesday, that Israeli companies sent official notifications to UNRWA to cut electricity and water to its buildings located within the apartheid wall, with implementation to begin within two weeks, based on a law approved by the Knesset at the end of last December.

The initial inventory – according to the Governorate's statement – showed that these measures target 10 UNRWA buildings, including schools, clinics, training centers, and administrative offices, among them the agency's main office in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, which portends serious repercussions for the educational, health, and relief services provided to Palestinian refugees in Jerusalem.

The Knesset had approved, on December 29th last year, a draft law to cut electricity and water to UNRWA offices, to come into effect immediately, with a majority of 59 votes against 7, in a move considered by the Governorate a blatant violation of international law and United Nations resolutions, foremost among them Resolution 302 which established UNRWA to ensure the provision of services to Palestinian refugees until a just solution to their issue is reached.

In October 2024, the Knesset definitively approved banning UNRWA's activities in Israel, claiming "the involvement of some of its employees" in the October 7, 2023 attack. Israel claims that UNRWA employees participated in the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation, which the agency has repeatedly denied, and the United Nations has affirmed UNRWA's commitment to neutrality.